This invention relates to a tray designed to support components of surgical procedure packs.
Disposable items that will be used for surgical procedures are generally contained within a surgical procedure pack. The surgical procedure tray serves as a base tray within the procedure pack.
The components included on the tray may include surgical gowns, gauze and cotton towels, suction handles and tubing and other disposable plastic medical devices. The procedure pack, as shown in FIG. 6, is wrapped in a nonwoven material or plastic back table cover. Then the entire pack is placed in a plastic sterilization pouch. The plastic sterilization pouch provides the first sterile barrier for the unopened procedure pack. The back table cover or nonwoven wrap serves as a secondary sterile barrier within the pack.
In using the surgical procedure pack, a nonsterile person opens the plastic pouch and places the procedure pack in the sterile wrap on a nonsterile table or stand. The sterile back table cover or nonwoven wrap is then unwrapped, separating the nonsterile area beneath the wrap and the sterile area above the wrap. The components that will be used in the surgical procedure remain sterile on top of the wrap. The wrap that previously surrounded the surgical procedure tray now serves as the primary barrier between sterile and nonsterile areas.
During setup for the surgical procedure the wrap is checked for any damage or holes which might compromise the sterile barrier. Such damage might occur during transit or handling. If the medical personnel perceive a possibility of damage to the sterile wrap, they may discard the entire pack because the pack components can no longer be assured to be sterile. Since the procedure packs can be expensive, it is important to reduce damage or the perception of damage to the sterile wrap.
If the procedure pack is mishandled, the edges of the tray may damage the sterile wrap. There are presently available a great many types of trays which are used as the base tray for procedure packs. One presently available tray is a thermoformed plastic tray. In the thermoforming process a heated plastic film is formed over a mold. A die then cuts the formed piece from the plastic sheet. This cutting process may create sharp tray edges which might damage the sterile pack wrap.
Some manufacturers attempted to solve this problem by wrapping the entire tray and its edges with a foam wrap. This meets with limited success since the tray edges may be sharp enough to cut both the foam wrap and the sterile wrap. Shifting of the tray off the foam may also present a problem. Others have attempted to solve this problem by using a foam ring which is adhered to the edge of the tray. This type of wrapped tray may also create damage to the pack wrap as described above. In addition, during ethylene oxide sterilization, changes in pressure may distort foam wraps or rings to exacerbate the problem.
Styrofoam trays are also available. These trays are relatively soft and flexible and do not generally damage sterile wraps. However, there some concerns regarding strength and particulate matter.